If there’s one thing the world of microelectronics can do, it’s bring what seems like magic into the real world. Such is the case today with this fantastic Harry Potter-themed project from maker Mo from the YouTube channel That’s So Mo. Using an Arduino Pro Micro, he transformed a Nimbus 2000 broom prop into a working controller that lets him fly more realistically in Hogwarts Legacy—no spells required.
He started by borrowing a Nimbus 2000 replica broom created by CineReplica. If you’re not familiar, this is the classic broom Harry used in the original franchise. With the addition of a few sensors and a little bit of patience, he turned the broom into a motion controller.
At the moment, it only works for PC, so you won’t be able to duplicate this for consoles using the steps and code he’s provided. The PC recognizes the broomstick as a wired Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller. The input signals from a few sensors are translated as directional pad/joystick input, which allows the motion control to register in-game.
In this demo, Mo uses an $800 Nimbus 2000 prop, but you could replace this with anything remotely broom-like. We’re sure if Filch had magic powers, he’d get away with flying on a mop. The controller is driven by an Arduino Pro Micro connected to an Adafruit LSM6DS3TR-C accelerometer and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor. You could use a Raspberry Pi Pico instead of the Arduino Pro Micro if that’s what you’ve got on hand. The hardware is mounted to the broom using carefully cut styrofoam pieces and popsicle sticks.
Mo was kind enough to share a detailed breakdown of the code used in this project in his demo video and over at GitHub. If you want to recreate this project, he recommends reading this article from Dave Madison on emulating Xbox controller input with an Arduino and this tutorial from Adafruit on using the accelerometer module.
This is one project you don’t want to miss in action; check out the demo video of the final project shared by Mo over at YouTube. You’ll also find an excellent explanation behind how it works, sure to inspire your inner wizard or at least maker.
